Eels in OKLAHOMA waters?

[osageCo_flathead]

Have you ever caught an eel in Oklahoma waters? if so...where? I have read eels are great bait. My father and uncle have talked about catching a few eels here in Osage county in Bird Creek. I am 31 years old and have been cat fishing as long as I could hold a pole...and I have never caught one or even seen someone catch one here in Ok.

[catfishcentral]

Hey Billy,

I've never seen a eel in Oklahoma either but there are some around apparently. I never heard of any from our lakes but there some in the lower sections of the Navagtion Channel. I fish the last two sections L @ D 17 and 18 and never in my life seen one there either but I'm sure there might be a few. We do have state record for eel, copied from the ODWC website.


American Eel 5-7 39 1/2 9 7/8 Lower Illinois River 6-3-95 Dolores Munsell

[osageCo_flathead]

I have never fished it brother...but I have read about it enough now I think I might change that real soon. I think I'm gonna hit Copan Dam in the morn and see if I can catch a few little Blues.

[AwShucks]

I used to catch the darn things in the Kiamichi River, before they put in the Hugo dam.

[bigsammy]

Caught one last summer beachball fishin at l&d 15 last summer with some buds.Was about 4ft long,dont know what kind it was,I would'nt allow it in the boat!Can't stand snakes!:frk-big:

[okie_kat]

You should have weigh it . It might have been a state record. They are in the entire Arkansas River system as well as the Red.

[bigsammy]

Yeah, we thought about it after the fact.Might have been a state record or somthin.Dont know what the record is.:conc-big:

[willisjj]

The state record eel was 5 lbs. 7 oz, caught on the lower Illinois river, it was 39 1/2" long, so there was a good chance that you did have the record beat. I myself have never caught or seen one, although I hear that they are pretty nasty and slimy and most people just cut their line instead of messing with em. I didn't even know we had any here in Oklahoma until I seen was reading the state records in the regs.

[CATFISHPAT]

Iv never got one,But if I do He's CUT BAIT!!!!!!!;)

[AwShucks]

I follow the "cut your line" philosophy. However, when in Virgiana fishing off piers in the James and York rivers, I saw individuals who carred a bucket of sand with them. They would drop the eel into the bucket, wait a minute and then pick it up. The sand stuck to the eels body and you could grip them. I tried it once (won't ever say I am the smartest person alive)... man, slime all the way up to my arm pit. Nope, cut the line. It's best.

[bigsammy]

I'm with ya Awshucks!don't much like snakes!I made one of them other boys pull the hook from him.Every time he tried to grab it,the darn thing would ball up and slide right out of his hand!I still ain't lived that one down,bein afraid to touch it and all.I'd rather lick the slime off a catfish!:sick-big:

[skeetermagnet]

I've never caught one but saw one caught about 10 years ago. We were crappie fishing on the navigational channel south of highway 51, just below a lock and a guy catfishing caught one. I'm firmly convinced that is why God invented .410 shotguns!

[slabmaster]

laake tenkiller has them .scuba divers see them there regularly especially at night

[NoodlingOkie]

You can catch them from time to time in the Red River.